LA Opera's Annual GREAT OPERA CHORUSES Moves Online June 7

The pandemic may have forced LA Opera to cancel its annual Great Opera Choruses concert at The Soraya, so the family-friendly event will now join the company's new LAO at Home programming lineup, moving online for a virtual concert on June 7.

Grant Gershon, the company's Resident Conductor, leads the concert, spotlighting three famous choruses from popular works. The grand finale, the Anvil Chorus from Verdi's Il Trovatore, will feature audience participation-viewers of any (or no) musical ability can sing along at home, with lyrics provided onscreen, and kids will love the opportunity to hammer on kitchen pots and pans for the perfect sound effects.

Co-hosted by LA Opera and The Soraya, the concert will feature Jeremy Frank, LA Opera's Associate Chorus Master, as pianist and music supervisor.

"The cancellation of the balance of LA Opera's spring season was devastating, but for Great Opera Choruses, there is a silver lining to be found," said Christopher Koelsch, LA Opera's Sebastian Paul and Marybelle Musco President and CEO. "By moving online, the performance is likely to be seen by more people than would have experienced it in the theater. I'm incredible thankful to the County of Los Angeles and Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, whose support has made it possible for this annual tradition to continue in this new format."

"This spring would have seen our fifth Great Opera Choruses at The Soraya, a long-standing tradition with our friends from LA Opera," said Thor Steingraber, Executive Director of The Soraya. "Their ingenuity brings us the online version, and though the audience sing-along won't be the same, these beloved pieces will no less stir our audiences listening at home."

"Covid or no Covid, the show must go on," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl. "I'm grateful to the LA Opera for its creative thinking and for bringing this marvelous performance to even more music lovers this year by moving it online."

The concert hits home screens at 3pm on June 7, 2020, via LA Opera's Facebook page.